Saturday, September 30, 2023

The Wrath of Becky

Set three years after the events of Becky, our sociopathic teenager has found some relative peace after going to war with the Neo Nazis who murdered her father. Successfully running from every foster home offered to her, Becky (Lulu Wilson) has found a new home with the elderly and unprying Elena (Denise Burse) and a crappy job as a waitress at a local diner. A run in with a trio of assholes, however, will change the course of Becky's path once more in this dark comedic thriller that proves one of the oldest rules to be true: never mess with people who serve you your food.

With her friend dead and her dog stolen, Becky tracks down the survivalists to the nearby home of their terrorist leader (Seann William Scott) putting the skills learned years ago back into action using psychological and guerilla warfare to get revenge for her friend and rescue her dog.

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Thursday, September 28, 2023

Ahsoka - Dreams and Madness

The penultimate episode of Ahsoka confirms the show's purpose as a prequel and filler to the "real story" Disney will no doubt get around to eventually. It's also important to note that, as in the case of many episodes of the series, there are absolutely no consequences for any characters in this episode. What "Part Seven" does offer is some Sabine (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi), who apparently has gotten less adept with the Force since we saw him last, time together with her being more than a bit coy about how she managed to reach him, Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) making to the other galaxy and eventually to the planet for a reunion, and Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) using the resources as his disposal to stall the Jedi providing more time for his escape.

Catwoman #57

Taking place in part of the ongoing "Gotham War" arc, Catwoman continues her bizarre Dickensian plan to solve crime in Gotham with the help of many, many thieves and Red Hood. Meanwhile Batman relies on help from unexpected places and fights his former protege who turns out to be a good distraction keeping his eyes off what Selina is really planning with her trip to the ballet. 

The Irrational - Pilot

The Irrational is the latest entry in the long line of police consultant procedurals with college professor Alec Mercer (Jesse L. Martin) helping the FBI, and his ex-wife (Maahra Hill), on cases the first of which is a former soldier confessing to the murder of his ex-girlfriend (Soma Chhaya) who Alec is convinced is innocent. The setup takes elements from various detective and consultant shows over the years, who often explains to others (and the audience) what he sees that they are missing, while also  including a dark personal mystery which haunts out genius professor and will likely be the thread woven in over the course of the series. 

Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Wonder Woman #1

In a comic dripping with toxic masculinity, which is of course the point, Amazons have become public enemy #1 and are being forced out of the United States. Our first issue opens with an unnamed Amazon's violent attack in a neighborhood bar which sets off events eventually leading to Amazons being voluntarily recalled and others being forcefully deported by an SS-looking goon squad breaking up families with extreme prejudice. 

Only Murders in the Building - CoBro

After a falling out among our trio, Charles (Steve Martin) quits the play, Oliver (Martin Short) recasts his role with an obsessive Matthew Broderick, and an increasingly frustrated Mabel (Selena Gomez) decides to launch a new season of the podcast without either of them. Along with Broderick having fun lampooning himself, the episode is notable for the return of Theo (James Caverly) providing some emotional support to Mabel and insight into a new suspect in Ben's death. "CoBro" also takes a look back at the friendship between Uma (Jackie Hoffman) and Bunny (Jayne Houdyshell) which works to give some perspective to Charles and to help push a reconciliation with Oliver. But is it too late to save their friendship with Mabel who has apparently already left the building?

Uncanny Spider-Man #1

With the world held hostage to the insane demands of Orchis, mutants have abandoned Earth. However, those choosing to ignore Charles Xavier's edict have decided to remain in order to do some good in a world which has turned their backs on mutantkind. One of those is Nightcrawler who has taken one of Spider-Man's old suits and become yet another Spider-inspired hero of New York City.

Monday, September 25, 2023

Archer - Chill Barry

"Chill Barry" offers the return of Barry Dylan (Dave Willis), whose consciousness is trapped inside a minifridge, who brings warnings of Other Barry and his plans for world conquest. Lots of craziness here as the team infiltrates the cyborg base, needlessly carrying the minifridge around, Cyril (Chris Parnell) gets injected with nanobots and becomes Other Barry's high-kicking slave, Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) gets his ass handed to him by the cyborg (again), and Lana (Aisha Tyler) makes a disturbing discovery that Zara Khan (Natalie Dew) is more like Archer than she thought as Zara's trainwreck of a personal life puts the mission at risk.

Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder #3

Three more black, white, and red stories of Harley Quinn's misadventures are collected in the latest issue of Harley Quinn: Black + White + Redder (which continues to be one of the best anthology series set around this concept). My favorite tale of issue #3 is "The Rebound" which gives us a Harley still spurned by the Joker latching on to a stray cat as her new best friend in a delightful little story which offers a few other notable cameos as well.

Wilderness - Happily Ever After

The purpose of the opening episode of Wilderness is to set up the justification for murder once Liv (Jenna Coleman) discovers the husband (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) she's sacrificed for is screwing on of his coworkers (Ashley Benson). Coleman is terrific here, especially in two scenes in which she reacts to her discovery, first what she believes is a one-night affair and later when she sees a video of Will and Cara together. Crushed by the weight of the situation, Liv plans a murderous revenge in the form of an apparent accident to occur to her husband while on a trip together.

Friday, September 22, 2023

Dragons: The Nine Realms - Cold Open

Returning for its Fourth Season, the season premiere of Dragons: The Nine Realms opens by showcasing the obsessions of both Tom (Jeremy Shada), who still hasn't been able to get into the Viking puzzle box found at the end of last season, and Olivia (Julia Stiles), who is looking for answers for the impossible rock found on her latest expedition. "Cold Open" also picks up the thread of Buzzsaw (Haley Joel Osment) when the Dragon Riders discover the entrance to the Ice Realm.

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Night of the Comet

Re-released on 4k, 1984's Night of the Comet stars Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelli Maroney as teenage sisters who wake up to a world decimated by a passing comet that vaporizes the vast majority of the populace and leaves others as zombies. Our other survivors are Star Trek: Voyager's Robert Beltran, a local gang, and a group of scientists who observed the phenomena from their underground bunker.

Thursday, September 21, 2023

Negaduck #1

Breaking out of prison, Negaduck returns to St. Canard to take come up with a dastardly plan to take the city by storm. Things don't go well. It turns out, coming up with an original criminal plan is actually harder than the super-villain expected as all other Darkwing Duck villains beat him to the punch on all of his "brilliant" ideas only riling up the villain even more.

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Tiny Toons Looniversity - Give Pizza a Chance

The second episode of Tiny Toons Looniversity keeps the focus on the same four characters switching things around with Buster Bunny (Eric Bauza) and Plucky (David Errigo Jr.) finding some common ground and deciding to use the money for fixing up their dorm room to throw a pizza party. Meanwhile, new friends Babs Bunny (Ashleigh Crystal Hairston)  and Sweetie Bird (Tessa Netting) get into an argument over their own as the neat freak and nesting bird fight over how clean and organized to keep their dorm room. Hampton J. Pig (David Errigo Jr.) gets pulled into both situations to act as a voice of reason and mediator. By the end, things are back to the status quo for all involved with Buster and Plucky back to competing against one another and Babs and Sweetie hugging out their issues.

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries #12

This volume of The Batman & Scooby-Doo Mysteries comes to an end with Mystery, Inc. waking up in the future and meeting Batman Beyond's Batman fighting the Royal Flush Gang over classic Batman gadgets such as Batman's utility belt. At least that's what the group thinks is happening. It's a fun, if unlikely, team-up with the future Batman as confused by the sudden appearance the young detective as the gang themselves.

Daredevil #1

Resurrected and brought back from Hell to live life in New York as a preacher leading a youth home of troubled kids, Father Matthew still has the skills acquired but is only dimly aware of a former life that's about to crash down upon him when Elektra (who has been keeping tabs on him and secretly funding the orphanage) is possessed by a demon and sent after him.

Ahsoka - Far, Far Away

After wasting several weeks dragging its feet to get the search for Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) and Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen)  stared, "Far, Far Away" rapidly accelerates its storytelling racing through events. Arriving in a distant galaxy, which apparently only contains a single planet of interest where both Thrawn and Ezra are both living, our evil doers almost immediately meet up with Thrawn and prepare his return. Released, Sabine's (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) begins scouring an entire planet, apparently only inhabited by this galaxy's versions of Sandpeople and odd rock creatures, for her lost friend which takes less than half a day.

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

Only Murders in the Building - Ah, Love!

Date night comes to Only Murders in the Building in an episode that doesn't actually deal with Joy (Andrea Martin) as a suspect but instead focuses on Charles' (Steve Martin) emotional issues with the help of his old friend Sazz (Jane Lynch). By the end of the episode, Charles has worked through his panic of dating yet another possible murderer and fears of commitment, but it turns out to be too little too late to save his unplanned engagement. While Joy is crossed of the list in Oliver's mind, it is interesting that the episode doesn't actually rule her out as a suspect (although her story does reveal more about the altercation between Charles and Ben on opening night).

Batman and Robin #1

The Dynamic Duo launch into a new era with Batman and Robin #1 featuring a more lighthearted pairing that had me confused for several pages as to just who was wearing Robin's mask. Turns out it is Damian, just a far less grumpy and murderous one that fans are likely to recognize. Honestly, given the strong Dick Grayson vibes of the pair's outing which opens the comic, I thought maybe this was a throwback to a Bruce and Dick adventure.

Kiss the Girls

1997's Kiss the Girls is the first of two movies adapted from James Patterson's novels starring Morgan Freeman as forensic psychologist Alex Cross. The plot follows Cross attempting to locate a kidnapper and serial killer known as Casanova who has just added Alex's niece (Gina Ravera) to his collection. Alex's biggest asset is Kate (Ashley Judd), one of Casanova's earlier victims and the only one who managed to escape her captivity.

Given the small cast, it's not all that surprising when the killer is revealed (you'll likely guess long before our resident genius Alex Cross does). The film received a mix response from both audience and critics, but did well enough at the box office for a 2001 sequel. Of the two, Kiss the Girls is the more creepy film although Along Came a Spider is a marginally better film, even if both rely on some questionable leaps in logic and plot twists to stumble towards an ending.

Monday, September 18, 2023

Justice Society of America #6

Justice Society of America #6 is a transitionary issue with the comic dealing with the fallout of the conflict from the opening arc of the series and starting to deal with the group of forgotten sidekicks who have been rediscovered. While some of these reappearances lead to tearful reunions with lost family and mentors, such as as Judy Garrick's heartfelt reunion with her father, many of the sidekicks don't have mentors to return to.

Justified: City Primeval - You Good?

As Clement Mansell (Boyd Holbrook) and Sweetie (Vondie Curtis-Hall) begin playing with the Judge's little black book starting with targeting a corrupt land developer (David Cross), the Detroit Police Department goes back to square-one in their investigation and Raylan (Timothy Olyphant) and Caroline (Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) deal with the morning after which includes a run-in with her ex (Amin Joseph). Clement continues to play fast and loose, even with his partner, heading back to the mark for a little extra payout, and the latest interaction with her ex forces Caroline to decide on a new course of action concerning the future she wants and how to best achieve that with the help of the Judge's little black book.

97 Minutes

This is a deeply stupid movie. 97 Minutes overs a braindead plot from screenwriter Pavan Grover involving a hijacked 767 on its way to Washington D.C. with a nuclear device onboard. It also happens to have an undercover Interpol agent who has infiltrated the hijackers and is the only one capable of preventing an attack on U.S. soil. 

Jonathan Rhys Meyers is the terrorist attempting to keep the passengers and pilot alive, when he isn't killing them. D.C. is getting sporadic information from their agent about the plane (and from some second never-revealed source about information needed to provide or confirm essential plot elements). Meanwhile, back in D.C. a trigger-happy NSA Director (Alec Baldwin) makes plans to shoot down the plane before all facts are in resulting in more trouble when his pilots shoot down the wrong plane.

Archer - Plaque Removal

Taking a job to safeguard museum artifacts in transit, Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), Lana (Aisha Tyler), and Zara Khan (Natalie Dew) head across the pond for a job that has added benefit for Lana if she can impress her client who would be influential in getting AJ into a prestigious private school. Trouble comes from an Indiana Jones-ish robber and his kid sidekick who want to return the artifact back to its native country. Usual fun with Lana struggling with a moral quandary, Archer getting wrapped up in himself and wondering if the cursed artifact may have made him impotent, and Zara continuing to prove herself an asset to the Agency (and get on Archer's nerves). The rest of the cast remains back in the office for the continued HR B-story with Pam (Amber Nash) attempting to shirk as much duty as possible.

Friday, September 15, 2023

Elemental

Presented with less fanfare than any Pixar movie I can remember, Elemental answers the question of what a Disney version of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner would look like. Similar in many ways to Zootopia, Elemental offers an unusual city of characters, this time elemental beings of fire, water, cloud (air), and tree (earth), attempting to live together in peace with an undercurrent of racism and bigotry bubbling just below the surface.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Dragons: The Nine Realms - The Sky Torcher

The Third Season of Dragons: The Nine Realms comes to a close with the Dragon Riders facing a new threat of a Sky Torcher and his Flame Thrower minions invading the Crystal Realm. Needing help, and allowing him to undo a mistake that has been haunting him, Tom (Jeremy Shada) finds and enlists the help of Fault Ripper in removing the magma from the realm and pushing the dragons back to the Fire Realm. Tom and the Dragon Riders gain a new ally here, and are successful in restoring the balance to the realm (although by bombarding the Sky Torcher in attacks which contradicts a bit of Tom's new no violence against dragons policy).

SHAZAM! #3

The gods playing with our hero as their puppet continues in SHAZAM! #3. Despite swearing off the magic word, Billy does become the Captain again to save a bus of Gorillas, who the Conclave of SHAZAM put in danger to force his hand, and safely transport them back to Gorilla City before heading to the moon. Oh, and we check in with Darla and Mr. Tawny stalling for time with the Space Dinosaur Lawyer. Let's see, talking gorillas, tigers, dinosaurs, and a trip to the moon? Yep, the wacky fun continues. Now bring me Hoppy (please)!

Almost Paradise - Uncoupled

Kai (Samantha Richelle) enlists the help of Alex (Christian Kane) to go undercover at a self-help retreat in order to investigate the cult in control of the private island and rescue a brainwashed young woman (Sarah Edwards) overwhelmed by their influence. The episode is also notable for the return of a vacationing Lockhart (John Storey) who ends up on the couples retreat alone after being dumped for a masseuse. Given a subplot of his own, involving him getting lost in the jungle, Lockhart doesn't play much of a role in main story until the end of the episode.

Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Birds of Prey #1

Offering a Magnificent Seven-style team-building issue, Birds of Prey #1 kicks off a new series with Black Canary needing to put together a group of heavy-hitters for a mission to rescue her sister Sin. The eclectic group features Cassandra Cain, Zealot, Big Barda, and (because I'm guessing someone at DC thought the group needed more star power) Harley Quinn.

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Only Murders in the Building - White Room

"White Room" takes its name from the multiple panic-induced breaks from reality Charles (Steve Martin) suffers while trying to get the patter song down for the play and deal with the realization he may have made a mistake in asking Joy (Andrea Martin) to move in with him. In each episode, Charles blacks out finding himself in a peaceful white room only to return to his consciousness to the horror (or, in the final example, delight) of what he's done during his blackout. Although we don't see exactly what Charles did during each of his episodes, the disgust of Oliver (Martin Short) and the others is certainly suggestive. The end of the episode's realization that Joy the trio's new prime suspect in Ben's (Paul Rudd) murder isn't likely to calm him.

Instinct to Kill

2001's Instinct to Kill is a bad, cheap movie that may or may not have been made for the change someone found in their couch. Mark Dacascos stars as a former cop turned protection expert JT Dillion whose latest client (Missy Crider) is the emotionally-frazzled and abused wife of a serial killer (Tim Abell) who has just escaped from the local mental hospital. Out for revenge against the wife and cop (Kadeem Hardison) who helped put him away, our killer will eventually catch back up with Tess to harass her once more while carving a new line of bodies to her door.

Monday, September 11, 2023

Ahsoka - Fallen Jedi

While I have enjoyed moments in Ahsoka, the series has increasingly felt like world building for the next big Star Wars project rather than a standalone series with its own tale to tell. Glacially moving the plot incrementally forward, in a race to Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) neither side feels all that compelled to win yet, the fourth episode of the series does offer some individual moments of note. We get a lightsaber battle in the woods of Seatos with Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) killing the nameless Inquisitor eliminating all the preposterous fan theories about the character's identity and importance to the series. We also get Ahsoka pairing off against Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) who reveals he knew Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), without, of course, providing any helpful details to his character or past.

Masters of the Universe: Forge of Destiny #1

A prequel series to Netflix's Masters of the Universe: Revelation gives us King Randor's plan to rally allies to his cause to stand up against the rising threat of Skeletor which leads Randor, Prince Adam, Teela, and Roboto into the island nation of Anwat Gar where Evil-Lyn frames Adam for a crime and attack against Dash-Shel.

Tiny Toons Looniversity - Freshman Orientoontion

Following in the steps of the rebooted Animaniacs, Tiny Toons gets reimagined into the new Tiny Toons Looniversity featuring younger Looney Tunes characters following in the footsteps of the original Looney Tunes characters who act as mentors and teachers at the Looniversity. The new version brings back the core of the original show (albeit with new voice actors). Not surprisingly, the opening episode puts twins Buster Bunny (Eric Bauza) and Babs Bunny (Ashleigh Crystal Hairston) front and center as they arrive on campus and are forced to make new friends after being separated into different dorms.

Saturday, September 9, 2023

A Haunting in Venice

Kenneth Branagh stars and directs in his third adaptation of a Hercule Poirot mystery, this time Agatha Christie's 1969 novel Hallowe'en Party. Quite different from the novel, screenwriter Michael Green plays up a supernatural element to the story allowing the film to make use of a host of horror tropes. Relocating the story to Venice, where Poirot (Branagh) has apparently retired, the detective gets dragged into attending a Halloween party and séance by old friend and mystery author Ariadne Oliver (Tina Fey) who made them both famous after basing her fictional detective off of Poirot.

Thursday, September 7, 2023

Endless Summer - Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures

As with IDW's other Endless Summer one-shots featuring characters from the Saturday Morning Adventures cartoon line, Endless Summer - Dungeons & Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures offers a chance at a respite for intrepid adventurers Hank, Diana, Bobby, Eric, Presto, and Sheila who Dungeon Master offers a respite at a lake with a single warning about not attempting to cross to the other side.

Archer - 30 for 30

Completing the two-part season premiere, "30 for 30" continues to play on the rivalry between Archer (H. Jon Benjamin) and Zara Khan (Natalie Dew) as they compete to take down members of Vanguard in their secret base. Although eventually Lana (Aisha Tyler) arrives for support, after a chaotic consumer airline trip involving Cheryl (Judy Greer) and Cyril (Chris Parnell), the success of the mission falls on Archer, Zara, Ray (Adam Reed), and Pam (Amber Nash) who must race out of the secret base after the Vanguard's leader is killed. Plenty of wacky and chaotic fun ending with Zara getting the upper hand with Archer and joining the Agency.

Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #8

Set during the rise of the First Order, Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories #8 has Snoke send the bickering pair of Kylo Ren and General Hux to Karaxis to get the planet under control. Challenged by Snoke for a show of strength, both men attempt to bend the locals to their will causing more chaos than loyalty (such as Hux's plan to unleash Bramalish beasts on the city that then his Stormtroopers can't corral).

Wednesday, September 6, 2023

Futurama - Parasites Regained

After Nibbler (Frank Welker) falls ill to the parasites living in his sandbox, slowly making him stupider, the crew uses Professor Farnsworth's (Billy West) shrink ray to go into the sandbox and save Nibbler's mind. The episode is a callback to Fry's (West) infestation of worms which made him smarter back in Season Three, but it's really just an excuse for Futurama to have fun parodying various aspects of Dune. The episode falls apart when Nibbler's damaged brain decides he'd rather stay dumb, logic that doesn't make any sense but does offer the chance of a nice bittersweet moment for Leela (Katey Sagal). This is immediately wiped away with Leela's last-second discovery of how to save Nibbler's mind (which will likely be ignored for several more episodes until the plot calls for it to be referenced again).

Almost Paradise - All In

The opening of her family's casino brings the return of Ann Villegas (Max Collins) whose distrust of security expert Barton Coyne (Joel Pierce), and threats about a potential robbery, forces her to enlist the help of Alex Walker (Christian Kane) to test out the casino's security... by robbing it. Putting a small crew together with Kai (Samantha Richelle) and Ernesto (Art Acuñ), Alex and his group successfully pull off a robbery to highlight gaps in the casino's security only to discover other thieves piggybacked on their plan, with the help of one of the crew posing as a hostess in the casino (Erika Heynatz), and stole millions more.

Endless Summer - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures

One of four one-shots spilling out of IDW's Saturday Morning Adventures line, Endless Summer - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Saturday Morning Adventures offers a one-shot story of the four turtles looking for a little respite at local theme park where their appearance isn't likely to cause problems given the number of visitors in costumes (although most are cowboys and not, you know, mutant turtles also wearing cowboy outfits). Sadly, their time off is interrupted by discovering Krang and Traag's secret base in the theme park.

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Subspace Rhapsody

Sandwiched between two darker episodes is the far lighter, and immensely enjoyable, "Subspace Rhapsody." After exposing a subspace fold to music, the crew of the Enterprise (and other ships in the nearby star systems) find themselves trapped in a musical where their emotions feed both big and brash and small and intimate musical numbers around the ship. While working for a solution, and through their own personal problems, through song, the crew need to find a solution before song angry musical Klingons arrive to make matters even worse.

Hackers

Newly released on 4K, 1995's Hackers is a very silly movie about a group of "innocent" high school hackers who despite breaking multiple laws throughout the film are the victims and heroes of the plot when another hacker (Fisher Stevens) decides to frame them for his crimes. The film stars Jonny Lee Miller as a child prodigy banned from using computers until his 18th birthday where he returns to the world of computers and takes up with a group of local hackers which include the hyper-competitive girl (Angelina Jolie) he has a crush on.

Monday, September 4, 2023

Ahsoka - Time to Fly

As the slow build-up to the search for Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) and Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) begins (that's right, more than a third through the series it still hasn't actually started yet for an ongoing story that is already longer than the original Star Wars), "Time to Fly" at least sees Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) get to the right planet and observe our baddies building a giant hyperspace drive. We do get a little action as they get shot down, but the episode's bulk is internal discussions and training involving Ahsoka and Sabine and Hera Syndulla's (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) inability to get the New Republic leadership to take the threat seriously.

G'nort's Swimsuit Edition

Despite the title, G'nort's Swimsuit Edition is not a collection of G'nort in swimwear (although the Green Lantern from the planet G'newt is the centerfold for the issue). The one-shot is made up of mostly art from various artists giving us a wide assortment of DC heroes and villains in beach and swimsuit poses. Attempting to add a bit more substances, two short stories are thrown in as well.

My Adventures of Superman - Zero Day

The two-part "Zero Day" explores the reasons behind Task Force X's bigoted and racist views on Superman (Jack Quaid) which continue in this episode as their controlled soldiers but the Man of Steel down. The major weakness of the show continues to be its villains which unfortunately is more evident when they are given more screentime. The big reveal in the episodes is apparently Kryptonians, or someone using Kryptonian technology, invaded Earth decades earlier doing rather minimal damage outside of a single government group that included Amanda Waller (Debra Wilson) and General Lane (Joel de la Fuente). Of course, the flashbacks we get don't explain just who from Krypton might have been involved, what their goal was, or why  the short incursion simply stopped.

Friday, September 1, 2023

Only Murders in the Building - Grab Your Hankies

The first episode of the season to stay completely in the present moves forward the threads of both the play and murder as Oliver (Martin Short) works furiously to turn his failed Broadway return into a musical, Charles (Steve Martin) hunts for a cast member without their hanky, and Mabel (Selena Gomez) spends a little time with documentarian Tobert (Jesse Williams) when the pair catch each other snooping for clues to Ben's (Paul Rudd) death. By the end of the episode, the show has new life and the podcast has a new suspect in Kimber (Ashley Park) who, given how early the season is highlighting her, suggests she is likely not the killer despite evidence of jealous rage, potential motive for the crime, and a missing handkerchief. 

Archer - The Anglerfish Stratagem

Archer returns for its fourteenth season with a fun season premiere sending Archer (H. Jon Benjamin), Ray (Adam Reed), and Pam (Amber Nash) to Paris to assist with an Interpol case to take down an organization of jewel thieves known as the Vanguard. Archer is immediately suspicious of Zara Khan (Natalie Dew) whose methods of using them to help perform two robberies of her own lead him to believe she will no doubt turn on them given the first opportunity. Let's just say he's had worse hunches.